3 people die in Detroit house fire; 1 escapes

By JEFF KAROUB, Associated Press Writer
| 5:52 a.m.Jan. 5, 2010

A home damaged by an early-morning fire is seen in Detroit on Tuesday Jan. 5, 2010. Three people died after the fire swept through the house whose power had been out for months. A fourth person survived by jumping from an upstairs window. (AP Photo/The Detroit News, John T. Greilick)
— AP

A home damaged by an early-morning fire is seen in Detroit on Tuesday Jan. 5, 2010. Three people died after the fire swept through the house whose power had been out for months. A fourth person survived by jumping from an upstairs window. (AP Photo/The Detroit News, John T. Greilick)
/ AP

A home damaged by an early-morning fire is seen in Detroit on Tuesday Jan. 5, 2010. Three people died after the fire swept through the house whose power had been out for months. A fourth person survived by jumping from an upstairs window. (AP Photo/The Detroit News, John T. Greilick)— AP

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A home damaged by an early-morning fire is seen in Detroit on Tuesday Jan. 5, 2010. Three people died after the fire swept through the house whose power had been out for months. A fourth person survived by jumping from an upstairs window. (AP Photo/The Detroit News, John T. Greilick)
/ AP

DETROIT 
Three people are dead after an early-morning fire swept through a Detroit home whose power had been out for months. A fourth person survived by jumping from an upstairs window.

Fire department Capt. Steve Varnas says a 911 call was received around 3:30 a.m. Tuesday. He says the cause of the fire is undetermined.

Family members confirmed the deaths and the escape.

Delores Flowers and Charlotte Nash are the sisters of two men who died in the fire. They identified those victims as Marvin and Tyrone Allen. They say the third victim was a female friend of Tyrone Allen's.

Nash says the man who jumped to safety is her son, Ronald Gross. She says he suffered some bruises but is otherwise OK.

Nash says the home had been without power because bills went unpaid. Space heaters were used during a recent cold spell.